Hearing the music

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music”

Friedrich Nietzsche

Since The Girl and I moved (returned, in her case) to western Canada a decade ago the gentle reader might – on a number of occasions at this time of year – have found posted to this forum a glowing write-up of an evening spent in the delightful company of Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express. Sadly – as reported last year – Barney and his peripatetic crew of musicians, writers and poets have decided that it was time to hang up their travelling boots and to stay at home instead. Since the Express had been making these charitable trips for some twenty years it would seem churlish to deny them the right so to do.

Fortunately that doesn’t mean that we will never see Barney again. His continuing popularity was all too evident during this summer, when he drew a sizable crowd to Butchart Gardens for a concert in their open-air series. We duly attended with friends and a splendid and joyous occasion was enjoyed by all. Barney and his band ended the evening with an entirely unrehearsed rendition of ‘American Pie‘ – during which the audience demonstrated that they too knew all of the words and required no rehearsal.

This weekend just passed The Girl and I attended another musical performance – this time at the Mary Winspear in Sidney. This seasonably appropriate event was a very different kettle of fish to Barney’s summer show and featured Vancouver folk band The Fugitives, with whom I fell in love with back in 2019 when they played at the Brentwood Bay Music in the Park. One of the two main songwriters in the band – Brendan McLeod – has recently spent a considerable amount of time studying the First World War Battle of Vimy – the which understandably looms large in 20th century Canadian history -and from this research Brendan and the band have created a one act monologue with music entitled ‘Beyond Vimy – featuring letters and songs written by the WW1 Canadian soldiers. Deeply affecting and bringing a tear to many an eye in the Charlie White theatre, the piece made a strong case for the importance of remembrance as an ongoing process that involves the whole community. Most impressive and moving!

In addition to these two fine musical occasions we also attended, this autumn, two further concerts at the opposite end of the scale – each taking place at the Save-on-Foods Arena in Victoria. Both of them featured sold out performances by Canadian icons.

Bryan Adams has decidedly achieved legendary status on this side of the pond – even if in the UK he is known mainly for for the rock anthem ‘Summer of 69‘ and the seemingly indestructible ballad – ‘Everything I Do, I Do it for You‘. Bryan was in good voice at the Save-on-Foods Arena, though there were few surprises. My enjoyment of the show was tempered somewhat by the sound being unnecessarily loud. I like the mix to be at a certain level, to guarantee an immersive experience, but I have grown less tolerant as I have grown older of excessive decibels.

An object lesson in how to obtain a perfect sound at the arena was provided a few weeks later by the wonderful Sarah McLachlan. Over the past decade and more I have been led on multiple occasions and by diverse means to this hugely talented artist and I have long desired to see her live. Last year she set out on a worldwide tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her classic album, ‘Fumbling Towards Ecstasy‘, but we were unable to get tickets for the shows because they sold out so quickly. Unfortunately the tour was postponed when Ms McLachlan lost her voice completely but we were better prepared when the rescheduled concerts were announced this year. The revised tour started in Victoria, but I see that, sadly, Sarah seems to have suffered a recurrence of her vocal issues some ten concerts in. We wish her the very best for a speedy recovery.

As for the concert itself – it was sublime! I have attended many shows over the years but this one I immediately identified as my new second favourite concert – ever! – just behind my equal first number-ones – Peter Gabriel’s ‘Secret World – Live‘ in London in 1993 – and the Peter Gabriel and Sting joint ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors‘ show in Edmonton in 2016.

If you think you detect a theme developing here, then you do. As the echoes of Sarah’s final encore died away and the audience started reluctantly to head for home, what should be played through the PA but Peter’s ‘Solsbury Hill‘.

Tingles!